Now that summer has finally seen fit to grace us with her presence, my garden has begun to actually yield some yummy stuff. The sugar snap peas have been a sweet and juicy edition to stir fry. Green onions and lettuce I've grown myself are in my salad. I've even managed to get a handful of blueberries every morning this week for breakfast. Hopefully soon the flowers on my tomatoes will turn into fruit.

A new store has opened in Cannon Beach that will sell you a hammer...and perhaps an ale, on tap. Cannon Beach Hardware and Public House opened recently, an idea inspired by small towns in Ireland where hardware stores are also the local pub. This is definitely a stop on my next trip to Haystack Rock.

Whooping cough cases are on a serious uptick in Jackson County. 23 cases of the illness, also known as pertussis, have been identified this year. This is twice the number of cases normally seen by the county. In previous years, Ashland has seen higher instances of Whooping Cough, attributed to parents choosing not to immunize their children. But this year Ashland seems to be spared for the most part.

Is your yard being overrun by blackberries? Have noxious weeds taken over your rockery? Is your mountainside in need of a good mowing but you don't want to use an herbicide? Enter Vegetation Management Services, Inc. a prescribed grazing service. The business is owned by Lewis Cochran of Vernonia. Cochran brings his boer goats out to an area in need of weed elimination and grazes them in the appropriate spot. 18 of his goats take about two days to clear a 3/4-acre area.

To Republicans in Congress and in state capitals across the country: It's time to refuse the NRA's support and their money. And donations received in the past should be donated to organizations supporting the survivors of gun violence.